Love and Duty
by PrincessDaydream77
Summary: Even as the younger son of King George V, Albert Windsor was expected to marry well, so that the line of the royal family would continue. However, when his eye was not caught by a foreign princess, but rather by the youngest daughter of an earl, could Bertie balance love and duty in pursuit of Lady Elizabeth? Dedicated to daydreaming87.


Love and Duty

Summary: Even as the younger son of King George V, Albert Windsor was expected to marry well, so that the line of the royal family would continue. However, when his eye was not caught by a foreign princess, but rather by the youngest daughter of an earl, could Bertie balance love and duty in pursuit of Lady Elizabeth? Dedicated to daydreaming87.

Disclaimer: Everything belongs to its rightful owners, including the story to me and its title to daydreaming87.

Chapter One

The time had come at last, the time when Albert, second son of King George V, must select for himself a wife, so as to further the alliances both within the United Kingdom, and with countries abroad. With the Great War scarcely ended, and partnerships once again open for negotiation, the man had more choices than he could believe. And yet, despite the plethora of beautiful, well titled women suggested to him, and his opportunity to choose any one of them he wished, he could not bring himself to believe that even one of them was the one he should call his wife.

Of course, since he had been a very young man, the prince had been taught that marriage was for the advancement of their country, and that only foolish nobles would marry for love alone. His own parents had had their marriage arranged between their fathers, and though they seemed to be happy, their relationship missed the spark of passion that he had heard of in instances of true love. That was what he wanted, whether or not he would ever get it.

However, when he had broached this subject with his father, he had been shot down in flames, told that his wife's purpose would be to provide him with a partner and an heir, with other children to follow if desired. With all the advancements of the world that had come in the last few decades, Albert could still scarcely believe that the archaic practice of arranged marriages still remained. But there was nothing to be done, and the choice would need to be made, sooner rather than later.

A ball had been arranged for that evening at the Palace, and the man was well aware that this was merely a ploy of his mother's to try and speed up his decision. He had discovered a list of women's names abandoned on the breakfast table, which had fed his notion that the ball was a matchmaking affair. He doubted that this had been accidental, as one of the servants would have cleared it away in a heartbeat, if she had not expressly desired it to be left for him to find.

Sighing deeply, Albert scanned the list, noticing the changes in his mother's handwriting, some subtle and some not so. Queen Mary had clearly taken a great deal of time with each letter of some young women's titles, her hand swirling gently over them, foreign princesses and first daughters of the richest and most important lords in the country. However, there were others that had merely been scribbled down on the page, as if they were merely an afterthought, second, third and even fourth daughters of men who were of hardly any consequence to the British Isles, women who had only been invited for the sake of appearances.

Albert glanced down the list once again the moment he had reached the bottom of it, trying to find a name that would spark his interest, or even better, his affection. But there was nothing special there, it seemed, just a list of titles and names forming endless combinations before his eyes. None of them seemed significant enough to him, none of them seemed suitable, none of them seemed... right.

Still, he supposed there was nothing to be done. He would have to attend the ball; it would be unseemly not to. And after it was done, he could simply tell his father none of them had been to his liking, and they could go back to the drawing board. It was not a permanent solution, and he was near certain that his father would resent him for it, but at least it would give him some more time to find a woman for himself.

As the prince prepared for the evening, he wondered to himself what it would be like to be married, to have someone to rely on him, to stand by him through thick and thin, to be there with him, always at his side. Whomever he selected to be his wife would also be the mother of his children. She would need to be loving, a woman who really cared about her offspring and their welfare. Albert sighed. '_I'll never find anyone to live up to my expectations, if I have this detailed a criteria for a perfect wife.'_

'_Perhaps I will find someone good enough.'_ he thought, realising that a little positivity in the face of this challenge might be the way to move forward. '_There will not be anyone as perfect as I had wished for, but I doubt there is a woman in the world who would be a match for that expectation. Still, I suppose I should give them a chance. It's more than likely, after all, that these women will be as nervous as I am. And I can hardly pull out of the race before I've reached the first fence to jump.'_

Satisfied that his attitude was far more acceptable, Albert put on his brave face as he dressed. He winced slightly at the clothes he had been forced to wear, hating the pretentious nature of the ornate garments, more of his mother's work, he did not doubt. He glanced up at the clock, to see that it would soon chime seven. In just half an hour, the grand ballroom would be filled with women, one of whom could become his future wife. He scoffed slightly at the thought. '_I doubt that very much; not if I have anything to do with it.'_

Little did he know, the woman he would marry, the woman he would come to fall in love with, was stepping across the threshold at that very moment.

A/N: I know that I have been promising to do this story for so long, but with the amount of exams I've had, I simply haven't had time to finish the first chapter. The updates might be a bit few and far between, but I'll try to put up new chapters as often as I can. Extra thanks to daydreaming87 for continuing to keep me motivated to get on with doing this story, and please review!


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